Terms are basically things that we agree to do or not to do. For example, a Tenant agrees to pay money for rent, while the Landlord agrees to let the Tenant occupy the property in return. Or a software company will let you use their software for a predetermined amount of time.

Conditions are items that must be satisfied before the transaction becomes binding upon the seller and the buyer. Or after signing/award, the conditions can be items for dissolution of the agreement.

For example, some buyers insert a condition for due diligence that allows the buyer to verify all important details before committing to purchase.

Or if you fail to deliver on or stick to what was agreed, the conditions can spell out how the contract will be terminated.

Hi Pippa. I look forward to seeing what our members can provide to you. When you get to negotiating the agreement, please have a look in the Resource Library / Recent Research for 'contracting as-a-service'. This IACCM research indicates what is typically standard (and non- negotiable) and what can vary in different situations.

We have moved some of our Procurement & Construction projects from progress based payment to milestone based payments. The major reason was to motivate contractors to expedite milestone achievement, and get paid faster. However, we found that most of the time delay had come from owner, consultant, designer or suppliers (not under contractor). In those cases, contractor resisted to get paid nothing, for not their mistake. We had to amend few contracts to move back to progress payments, or we had to breakdown milestones into smaller units. For few projects, it went smooth and milestone payment were successful. So you may have to see what you can offer and what are your limitations, before introducing this change. A survey feedback from your routine contractors can also be helpful in decision making.

In the US, Texas or New York are largely considered "neutral territory" whereas in Europe, until very recently UK law was considered neutral. I think that may change with the recent political upheaval.